The Battle of Romani took place near the The Arab Republic of Egypt, commonly known as Egypt, (in Arabic: مصر, romanized Mişr or Maşr, in Egyptian dialect) is a republic mostly located in northeastern Africa. Covering an area of about 1,020,000 km², it includes the Sinai Peninsula (considered part of... Egyptian town of Romani which lies 23 miles east of the 1881 drawing of the Suez Canal The Suez Canal ( Arabic, Qanā al-Suways), west of the Sinai Peninsula, forms a 163  km (118 miles) ship canal in Egypt between Port Said (Būr Saīd) on the Mediterranean Sea and Suez (al-Suways) on the... Suez Canal near the -1... Mediterranean shore of the Sinai Peninsula, Gulf of Suez (west), Gulf of Aqaba (east) from Space Shuttle STS-40 The Sinai Peninsula (in Arabic, Shibh Jazirat Sina) is a triangle-shaped peninsula lying between the Mediterranean Sea (to the north) and Red Sea (to the south). Its land borders are the Suez Canal to... Sinai peninsula. On the night of August 3 is the 215th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (216th in leap years), with 150 days remaining. Events 1400-1899 1492 - Christopher Columbus sets sail from Palos de la Frontera, Spain. 1492 - The Jews were expelled from Spain by the Catholic Monarchs. 1645 - The Second Battle... August 3, 1916 is a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar) Events January-February January 1 -The first successful blood transfusion using blood that had been stored and cooled. Impressionist Monet paints Water Lilies. January 8 - Allied forces withdraw from Gallipoli January 17 - The Professional Golfers Association... 1916, the The Republic of Turkey is a country located in Southwest Asia with a small part of its territory (3%) in southeastern Europe. Until 1922, the country was the center of the Ottoman Empire. The Anatolian peninsula, between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, forms the core of the country... Turkish army, having advanced from southern The term Palestine may refer to: Palestine: A geographical region in the Middle East, centered on Jerusalem. It is claimed by Palestinians and (under the name Eretz Israel) Jews as their ancestral home. The West Bank and the Gaza Strip, sometimes collectively referred to as the Palestinian territories The Palestinian... Palestine, attacked the The word Britain is used to refer to the United Kingdom (UK) the island of Great Britain, which consists of the countries of England, Scotland, and Wales sometimes the Roman province called Britain or Britannia The word British generally means belonging to or associated with Britain in either of the... British defenses at Romani which controlled the northern approach across the Sinai to the canal. After a night and day of fighting, the Turkish assault was defeated and thereafter the Allies were on the offensive, pushing the Turks back across the Sinai, through Palestine and into The Syrian Arab Republic is a country in the Middle East, bordering (from south to north) on Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Iraq and Turkey. The borders with Israel and Turkey are subject to dispute, pending the resolution of outstanding conflicts over possession of the Golan Heights and the region of Iskenderun... Syria.

Prelude

The Turkish goal was to control or destroy the Suez Canal, thereby denying the use of the waterway to the Allies and in doing so aiding Turkey's Central Powers is a term used to refer to the Dual Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria during World War I. They are so called because they all lay between Russia in the east and France and the United Kingdom in the west. Germany and... Central Powers allies fighting in World map showing location of Europe A satellite composite image of Europe Europe is geologically and geographically a peninsula, forming the westernmost part of Eurasia. It is conventionally considered a continent, which, in this case, is more of a cultural distinction than a geographic one. ( National Geographic, however, officially recognises... Europe. A Turkish raid in early 1915, travelling through the central Sinai via the Wady Um Muksheib, succeeded in reaching the canal but was driven off by the British defenders.

The commander of the Allied forces in Egypt was General Sir Archibald Murray. At the time of the battle, his available forces comprised two British infantry divisions (the The British 42nd (East Lancashire) Division was a Territorial Army division. Originally called the East Lancashire Division, it was redesignated as the 42nd Division in 1915. It was the first Territorial division to be sent overseas during the First World War. The division fought at Gallipoli, in the Sinai desert... 42nd Division and the The British 52nd (Lowland) Division was a Territorial Army division. During the First World War the division fought at Gallipoli, in the Middle East (Sinai and Palestine) and on the Western Front in France. Unit history The division began landing at the Helles front on the Gallipoli peninsula in June... 52nd (Lowland) Division) and the The Anzac Mounted Division was a mounted infantry (light horse) division formed in March Egypt during World War I following the Battle of Gallipoli when the Australian and New Zealand mounted regiments returned from fighting as infantry. For the remainder of the war it served in the Middle East, in... Anzac Mounted Division, under General Categories: Stub | 1865 births | 1945 deaths | Australian World War I people ... H.G. Chauvel, containing the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Australian Alternate meaning: Lighthorse (American Indian police) The Australian Light Horse soldiers were mounted infantry who served during the Boer War and World War I. The Light Horse differed from cavalry in that they usually fought dismounted, using their horses as transport to the battlefield and as a means of swift... Light Horse Brigades, the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade and the 5th Mounted Brigade (British In the 1790s, the threat of invasion of England was high, with the French Revolution and the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte. In order to maximise the countrys defences, a number of volunteer regiments were raised in many counties by yeomen. These regiments became known as the Yeomanry. Current Yeomanry... Yeomanry).

Due to the lack of reliable water in the central Sinai, Murray was confident that any Turkish attack would be made via the northern approach and so he concentrated his defence at Romani which would hold the Turks out of Historically, artillery refers to any engine used for the discharge of projectiles during war. The term also describes ground-based troops with the primary function of manning such weapons. Continental Artillery crew from the American Revolution Modern Artillery Modern artillery is distinguished by its large calibre, firing an explosive shell... artillery range of the canal.

In July, 1916, the commander of the northern sector of the canal defences, General Sir H.A. Lawrence, had the 52nd Division entrenched on the eastern edge of the Romani sand hills and was using the mounted brigades to patrol the oasis to the east. He also had detached the New Zealand Mounted Rifle Brigade and the 5th Mounted Brigade to act as This article is about a military unit. For alternate meanings see Corps (disambiguation). A corps (a word that immigrated from the French language, but originating in the Latin corpus, corporis meaning body; plural same as singular) is a large military unit or formation. In many armies, it refers to a... corps troops. They were position west of Romani at Hill 70, commanded by General Chaytor.

On July 18, a large Turkish force, mainly from the Turkish 3rd Division, reached the oasis area at Oghratina, east of Romani, having advanced undetected by marching at night from El Arish near the southern border of Palestine. Over the next few weeks the Turks consolidated their position and prepared for a large scale assault on the British defences.

The battle

General Murray had anticipated a Turkish attack to the south of the fortified line and the Turks obliged. On the night of August 3 is the 215th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (216th in leap years), with 150 days remaining. Events 1400-1899 1492 - Christopher Columbus sets sail from Palos de la Frontera, Spain. 1492 - The Jews were expelled from Spain by the Catholic Monarchs. 1645 - The Second Battle... August 3 a Turkish force, believed to be 8000 strong, followed behind the 2nd Light Horse Brigade as it was returning to Romani from a day Reconnaissance is the military term for the active gathering information about an enemy, or other conditions, by physical observation. It is part of combat intelligence. Compare to counterintelligence. It is often referred to as recce (British & Commonwealth) or recon (USA). The associated verb is reconnoiter (reconnoitre in British English... reconnaissance. Having detected that the attack was imminent, Chauvel had positioned the 1st Light Horse Brigade on a loose defensive line running from Katib Gannit at the southern tip of the Infantry in the First World War Infantry (or Infantrymen) are soldiers who fight primarily on foot, using personal weapons. They may arrive on scene in various ways, and are deployed either in formations or as skirmishers and guerillas. In the modern period, the term infantryman is reserved for the most... infantry entrenchment, heading south-west along the edge of the sand hills, passing through a large sand hill called Mount Meredith and ending at Hod el Enna.

Though vastly outnumbered, the light horsemen fought an effective delaying action at close quarters. They relinquished ground slowly. Around 2.30am on August 4, after the moon had set, the Turks made a bayonet charge on Mount Meredith and the light horsemen evacuated the position at 3am. The Australians were eventually forced back to a large east/west sand dune called Wellington Ridge at the southern edge of the Romani encampment.

Having been held south of Romani, the Turks attempted a further outflanking maneuver to the west and concentrate 2000 troops around another sand hill called Mount Royston, south-west of Romani. At dawn Chauvel sent the 2nd Light Horse Brigade back into action in front of Mount Royston. The Turkish advance was at a standstill everywhere. After a long night march the Turkish troops now faced a difficult day under the desert sun without a source of water and exposed to the Romani artillery.

Shortly after dawn the Turks succeeded in forcing the Australians off Wellington Ridge which placed them within 700 metres of the Romani camp but depleted, exhausted and exposed to shelling from the horse artillery, they were unable to press the attack further.

As soon as General Lawrence was certain a major attack was in progress, he instructed Chaytor's brigades to advance from Hill 70 to counter-attack against the Turkish flank. The Turks at Mount Royston were checked to the north by the 3rd and 6th Light Horse Regiments, under constant bombardment from the horse artillery and the heavy artillery of the 52nd Division and when Chaytor's force attacked from the west, they surrendered on mass, around 6pm on August 4.

Both sides were content to rest on the night of August 4. At dawn on August 5 the Australian light horse regiments and the New Zealand Wellington Mounted Rifle Regiment that had been holding the line opposite Wellington Ridge mounted an attack on the Turkish positions and by 5am had captured 1000 prisoners and driven off the remainder. Everywhere along the front the Turks were either retreating or surrendering.

The fight for Romani, and ultimately the Suez Canal, had been won, largely by the Australian and New Zealand mounted troops.

Aftermath

An opportunity to encircle and annihilate the retreating Turks west of Katia was missed when the 52nd Division failed to advance promptly to coincide with the recapture of Wellington Ridge. The New Zealand, 1st & 2nd Light Horse and 5th Mounted Brigades attacked the Turks at Katia at 3.30pm on August 5 but were unable to dislodge them. Chauvel ordered a withdrawal back to Romani. Some of the light horse had been in constant combat for 59 hours.

However, the Turks were now retreating their entire force, from Katia to Oghratina and then to Bir El Abd. By August 12 the Turks had evacuated Abd and ultimately retreated back to El Arish from where they had originally started their advance.

By the time the Turks were driven out of Katia, their A casualty is a victim of an accident, injury or trauma. Human casualties are those people who have been killed or injured in a war, military combat, or disaster. The number of casualties is often quoted by the media in these situations. Casualties of War include all persons wounded (mentally... casualties were 1250 dead (buried by the British after the battle) and an estimated 4000 wounded. The British had taken 3950 Turkish prisoners. Total British casualties were 1130 of which 202 were killed. The 52nd Division incurred 195 of these casualties, the rest came from the Australian and New Zealand mounted regiments.